The invention relates generally to non-lethal projectiles and weapon systems, and more particularly to a projectile and weapon system that are adjustable in terms of the lethality thereof.
Until recently, any fired weapon (e.g., hand gun, shotgun, rifle, etc.) was considered to be a lethal weapon. That is, the projectiles fired from the weapon were of sufficient size/hardness and were fired at sufficient velocity to render a lethal blow to a target individual. More recently, efforts have been made to produce weapons and/or projectiles that are not meant to kill a target individual. In terms of non-lethal weapons, the weapons are typically designed to fire a projectile at slower speeds to reduce the lethality of the fired projectile. In terms of non-lethal projectiles, a variety of rubber-based projectiles have been developed for use in standard weapons. For example, the rubber material can be formed as the projectile body, as balls or small pellets dispersed from a shotgun shell, or as small pellets contained within a pouch or bag. However, there is currently no projectile that can be used as either a lethal or non-lethal projectile. Further, there is no weapon system that offers the user the ability to adjust the lethality of the weapon by adjusting the lethality of the projectile that is to be fired therefrom.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide projectile and weapon system having a variable lethality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a projectile and weapon system having a variable lethality that can be changed just prior to the firing thereof.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of changing the lethality of a projectile.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a weapon system that can operate over a range of lethality.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a weapon system that can change the lethality of a projectile that is to be fired therefrom.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a weapon system that can fire lethal and non-lethal projectiles.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a weapon system that can make a projectile fired therefrom lethal or non-lethal.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
In accordance with the present invention, a weapon system and projectile are disclosed. The projectile incorporates a rheological fluid. In general, the projectile has a housing defining a shape for a projectile with the rheological fluid being contained within the housing. The rheological fluid is one or more of an electrorheological (ER), magnetorheological (MR) or enhanced-MR fluid. The viscosity of the rheological fluid is adjustable in the presence of an appropriate field of energy. The weapon system includes a launching device (e.g., a gun) for firing the projectile therefrom. An energy field generator, coupled to the launching device, generates the appropriate field of energy about the projectile to change (i.e., increase) the viscosity of the rheological fluid. The projectile is designed such that it is; i) non-lethal when the rheological fluid has not been subjected to the field of energy, and ii) more lethal when the rheological fluid has been subjected to the field of energy.